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Fat mass

Jan 14 2024
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InBody in Aesthetic Clinics: Step-by-Step Application Guide

By Blog, Fat mass, Medical

Outline

 

In today’s aesthetic and wellness clinics, understanding and managing body composition has become increasingly important. The InBody body composition analyzer, a cutting-edge tool, is revolutionizing how you can offer personalized care to your clients. In this guide, we’ll explore the step-by-step application of InBody in aesthetic clinics, emphasizing its benefits, usage, and interpretation of results.

Fat Reduction in Aesthetic Clinic

What is an InBody test?

InBody is a medical device that measures body composition through a method called bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). This advanced method sends a small alternating current through the body, enabling precise measurements of body composition, including fat mass, water content, lean mass, and cell’s integrity.

By stepping on the InBody device for less than 1 minute, you can obtain a detailed body composition analysis with a comprehensive breakdown of muscle, fat, and water distribution in the body, which is crucial for tailoring client treatments in aesthetic care.

Integrating the InBody device into your services gives you a more nuanced understanding of each client’s physical makeup, allowing for more customized and effective treatment plans. This not only enhances the accuracy of weight and body fat measurements but also informs decisions regarding water retention, muscle mass, and fat distribution, empowering you to guide clients more effectively towards their body physique goals.

Step-by-Step Application of InBody in Aesthetic Clinics

Step 1: Pre-Test Preparation

Before conducting an InBody test, certain preparatory steps are necessary to ensure accurate results. These include maintaining normal fluid intake, avoiding heavy meals or exercise for a few hours prior to the test, and removing any accessories that might interfere with the test.

Learn the tips for getting the accurate InBody results

Additionally, it is recommended to conduct the InBody test before starting any treatment or service. This ensures that you obtain the most accurate result, as it reflects the client’s body condition in its normal state.

Step 2: Conducting the Test

The test process is straightforward. Clients stand on the InBody machine and hold onto its handles. The device sends a low-level electrical current through the body to measure impedance in different body components.

Step 3: Data Collection and Analysis

Once the test is completed, InBody machines provide a detailed printout or digital report. This report breaks down the client’s body composition into muscle, fat, and water content, alongside other valuable metrics.

Step 4: Interpreting the Results

Clinicians interpret the results to provide clients with insights into their body composition and how it relates to their overall health and aesthetic goals. The InBody report breakdown is easy to understand and can be clearly explained to clients. This helps them grasp the importance of your treatment in your clinics.

Step 5: Integrating InBody Data into Treatment Plans

The final step involves using the InBody data to create or adjust treatment plans. This might involve targeting specific areas for fat reduction treatments, muscle stimulation, adjusting dietary recommendations, or modifying fitness regimens.

Treatment in Aesthetic Clinic

Incorporating InBody into Your Clinic’s Services

  • Enhanced Client Satisfaction: InBody provides tangible, objective data that can be used to track the progress of treatment over time. With detailed information on body composition, clients will be able to understand and be more convinced of the reasons behind the treatment plans that you have suggested to them.
  • Improving Treatment Deals: Ensure that all staff members are trained to operate the InBody machine and interpret the results accurately. This will enable you to teach the staff how to suggest treatment plans in a more reasonable way based on clients’ body composition data, leading to more effectively targeted and improved deals.
  • Marketing and Promotion: As InBody is a well-known product in the beauty and fitness industry, it can be used as a marketing tool to attract clients who are interested in personalized health and aesthetic services.

Advanced Interpretation of InBody Data in Aesthetic Clinic Practice

In aesthetic clinics, the detailed data from InBody assessments can be leveraged to design highly personalized treatments. Here’s an expanded look at key metrics provided by InBody and their application in aesthetic practices:

  1. Skeletal Muscle Mass (SMM): This metric indicates the amount of muscle attached to bones. In aesthetic clinics, understanding a client’s SMM is crucial for body contouring and sculpting treatments. A higher SMM often correlates with a more toned appearance, guiding the focus of muscle-enhancing or fat-reduction treatments.
  1. Percent Body Fat (PBF): PBF shows the proportion of a person’s weight that comes from fat. It’s a critical measure for weight loss and body-sculpting procedures. Clinicians can use PBF to identify areas of excessive fat accumulation and tailor nonsurgical fat removal treatments like cryolipolysis.
  1. Segmental Lean Analysis: This provides a breakdown of muscle distribution across the body, including each limb and the trunk. In aesthetic clinics, this data is invaluable for identifying muscle imbalances or areas needing enhancement. For example, if one arm or leg shows less muscle mass, targeted treatments or exercises can be recommended to achieve symmetry.
  1. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): BMR is the number of calories the body needs to perform basic functions at rest. It’s a valuable metric for designing weight management programs. Clients with a lower BMR might require different dietary or exercise recommendations compared to those with a higher BMR.
  1. Body Water Analysis: Understanding a client’s hydration levels and water distribution is crucial for skin health, recovery post-treatment, and overall well-being. The ECW Ratio provided by InBody can help detect edema and post-procedural fluid retention. It can also be used to check for any risks of whole-body and localized inflammation.
  1. Body Composition History: Tracking changes over time allows clinicians to monitor the effectiveness of treatment plans and make adjustments as needed. This historical data provides a comprehensive view of a client’s journey, enhancing the personalization of care.

Conclusion

InBody represents a significant advancement in the field of aesthetic wellness. By providing detailed, accurate, and personalized body composition data, it empowers clinics to offer better, more targeted treatments.

Navigating higher sales in the aesthetic industry can be quite challenging, but with the help of InBody, you could achieve remarkable success with your client’s physique goals. Our team of dedicated InBody specialists are here to guide you every step of the way.

Take the first step towards boosting your sales by contacting our InBody specialist today. They will provide you with valuable insights and personalized solutions tailored to your specific needs. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to take your business to new heights!

Redeem your one-week free InBody970 trial at your clinic!
Sep 25 2023
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Can You Really Lose Weight Without Hitting the Gym?

By Body Composition, Body Composition Analysis, Fat mass, Muscle, Press

Weight loss is a journey, and like all journeys, everyone’s path is unique. For some, hitting the gym and sweating it out has become second nature. However, for others, the thought of regular exercise can be intimidating, time-consuming, or simply not feasible due to various reasons.

So, is it truly possible to achieve weight loss without exercise? The simple answer is yes! But, as you’ll discover in this post, incorporating physical activity has its own set of irreplaceable advantages.

Weight Loss Without Exercise

Weight Loss Without Exercise: How Does It Work?

  1. Caloric Deficit: At its core, weight loss boils down to a simple equation – consume fewer calories than your body uses. If you can create a caloric deficit, you’ll lose weight. This can be achieved by adjusting your diet, monitoring your portions, and opting for healthier alternatives.
  2. Quality of Diet: Not all foods are created equal. While two meals might contain the same number of calories, one could be packed with sugars and trans fats, while the other is rich in vitamins, fiber, and protein. Prioritizing whole, nutrient-dense foods can spur weight loss even without added physical activity.
  3. Stay Hydrated: Drinking water before meals can help reduce hunger and, therefore, lead to lower calorie consumption. Additionally, drinking an adequate amount of water can aid in metabolism, which in turn helps the body burn calories more efficiently.
  4. Mindful Eating: This involves paying close attention to what you’re eating, savoring each bite, and recognizing when you’re full. This practice can help reduce binge eating and make you more conscious of your food choices.
  5. Limiting Sugar and Processed Foods: Processed foods are often high in calories, sugar, and unhealthy fats. Minimize these to see a marked improvement in your weight loss journey.

 

Mindful eating helps in weight loss without exercise

Are You Losing Weight or Losing Fat?

However, the weight you lose is just a number. It doesn’t reveal what that weight comprises. Is it fat, muscle, or water?

It’s entirely possible to lose weight without exercising by merely eating less. However, without proper nutrition and muscle stimulation, you might be losing muscle mass instead of fat. This is not an ideal scenario, as muscles are metabolically active and help burn more calories.

Rapid weight loss, combined with muscle loss, can lead to the “yo-yo effect,” also known as “weight cycling.” Imagine losing weight, only to regain it after a while due to changes in your diet. Then, you lose it again, only to gain it back once more. The cycle of losing and gaining weight can increase the risk of certain diseases, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Body composition analyzers, such as InBody, provide a comprehensive view of your body composition. This allows for a better understanding of where weight loss is occurring, whether it be from muscle, fat, or water.

Exercise: How Does It Help with More Efficient Fat Loss?

Yes, you can lose weight without exercising. However, if your goal is to maintain a healthy body composition, stay slim, and avoid the dreaded yo-yo effect, then exercise offers benefits that are hard to ignore.

1. Muscle Maintenance: When you lose weight, it’s not just fat you’re shedding. Without exercise, especially strength training, you may lose muscle mass. Muscles are metabolic powerhouses, burning more calories even at rest. Maintaining them can help you keep the weight off long-term.

2. Improved Metabolism: Regular exercise, especially resistance training, can boost your metabolic rate, which in turn helps you burn more calories.

3. Body Physique: Exercise helps in toning the body, giving you a more defined look. It’s not just about the number on the scale, but how you look and feel in your physique.

4. Mental Health: Beyond the physical, exercise has been shown to improve mood, reduce anxiety, and combat depression. The endorphin rush after a workout session is hard to beat!

How Does Exercise Help with More Efficient Fat Loss?

Conclusion: Why You Should Still Lace Up Those Sneakers!

“Weight loss without exercise” is a tantalizing concept, and indeed, it’s entirely achievable. By controlling your diet, being mindful of your eating habits, and staying committed, you can see the numbers on the scale drop. However, if you’re looking for a toned body, improved mental health, and a higher likelihood of keeping the weight off, then lacing up those sneakers might be worth the effort.

In the end, it’s all about what aligns with your goals, lifestyle, and preferences. Whether you choose a path with or without exercise, remember that every step towards a healthier you is a step worth celebrating.

Jul 20 2023
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Hormones for weight loss

Outsmart Your Hormones for Effective Fat Loss

By Blog, Body Composition, Body Composition Analysis, Fat mass

Hormones play a significant role in regulating body composition, including fat storage, muscle growth, and bone density. Insulin regulates blood sugar levels, while leptin signals the brain when full and ghrelin stimulates appetite. Thyroid hormones regulate metabolism, and cortisol responds to stress. A holistic approach, including healthy habits, is necessary for weight management, as hormones interact with each other and are influenced by lifestyle factors.

Ever wondered what’s pulling the strings behind your body’s response to food, stress, and other factors that influence weight? The answer lies largely in your hormones.

Hormones play a significant role in regulating body composition, which refers to the proportion of fat, muscle, and bone mass in the body. They influence various aspects, such as fat storage, muscle growth, and bone density.

Let’s dive into the fascinating world of endocrine function and see how various hormones play a crucial role in maintaining body weight.

Insulin: The Sugar Regulator

Insulin, produced by the pancreas, plays a crucial role in controlling blood sugar levels by facilitating the absorption of glucose into cells for use as energy.

Our body breaks down food into glucose, which enters the bloodstream. High blood glucose levels trigger the pancreas to release insulin, directing cells to use glucose for energy.

Overconsumption of sugars and carbohydrates can cause insulin levels to rise, which in turn promotes fat storage and can lead to increased body fat (especially abdominal fat) if the energy isn’t used.

insulin and blood sugar

Discover how visceral fat may be causing your health problems

Insulin resistance is a common condition that occurs when your cells become less responsive to insulin, resulting in elevated blood sugar levels as glucose cannot enter your cells.

To compensate for this, your pancreas produces additional insulin to enhance glucose absorption. Research has established a correlation between insulin resistance and obesity, which can increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis.

To avoid insulin resistance

To avoid high sugar spikes that can lead to insulin resistance in the long run, it’s important to increase fiber intake in the diet.

Consuming foods that are high in fiber can help you regulate blood sugar levels and reduce your risk of developing insulin resistance. Additionally, increasing your muscle mass can help improve your insulin resistance. This is because your muscle cells are able to use glucose for energy, which can help lower your blood sugar levels.

It’s important to maintain other healthy lifestyle habits, such as consuming a balanced diet, avoiding excessive sugar and carbohydrate intake, and engaging in regular physical activity.

Leptin: The Satiety Hormone

Leptin is a hormone produced by the fat cells in your body. One of its main functions is to signal your brain when you’ve had enough to eat so that you stop feeling hungry.

Leptin is important for maintaining a healthy weight, but overweight individuals may develop leptin resistance. This reduces the brain’s response to leptin signals, causing hunger even after eating enough.

This can lead to overeating, weight gain, and other health problems. Researchers are still working to understand the causes of leptin resistance and how it can be prevented or treated.

Overeating and Leptin

Some potential factors that may contribute to leptin resistance include a diet high in processed foods and sleep deprivation. Therefore, it is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle, which includes a balanced diet and enough sleep, to prevent the onset of leptin resistance and maintain a healthy weight.

Ghrelin: The Hunger Hormone

Ghrelin is a hormone that is often referred to as the ‘hunger hormone, as it is responsible for stimulating appetite. It is produced in the stomach, and levels rise before meals, which signals to the brain that it’s time to eat. After eating, ghrelin levels decrease, which helps reduce hunger.

However, if someone has a constant, high level of ghrelin, it could lead to overeating, which in turn may lead to weight gain. In fact, research has shown that individuals with high levels of ghrelin tend to consume more calories and have a higher body mass index than those with lower levels of the hormone.

Ghrelin: The Hunger Hormone stimulating your appetite

Therefore, it is important to regulate ghrelin levels in the body in order to maintain a healthy weight and avoid overeating. This can be achieved through various means, such as consuming a balanced diet, ensuring adequate sleep, and managing stress levels. By doing so, individuals can help keep their ghrelin levels in check and maintain a healthy body weight.

How do I manage ghrelin levels?

Losing weight can be challenging due to the fact that reducing calorie intake can often result in higher levels of ghrelin, a hormone that increases hunger. Moreover, metabolism tends to slow down, and levels of leptin decrease.

According to the research, incorporating protein into your diet may help regulate ghrelin levels, which can reduce hunger and support weight management. Additionally, it’s important to eat regular meals instead of skipping them in order to regulate ghrelin and prevent overeating. If you’re struggling to control your appetite, it’s recommended that you seek medical help.

Thyroid Hormones: The Metabolism Masters

The role of thyroid hormone in metabolism

The thyroid gland is a vital component of our endocrine system and plays a crucial role in regulating our metabolism.

The thyroid hormones T3 and T4, produced by the thyroid gland, are responsible for this regulation.

A decrease in the production of these hormones can slow down our metabolism and result in weight gain.

Regular exercise and consuming a diet like the Mediterranean diet rich in iodine, selenium, and zinc can support healthy thyroid function, which in turn supports a healthy metabolism and body weight.

Cortisol: The Stress Hormone

Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands in response to stress. It provides energy and resources to deal with stress. However, chronic stress can lead to persistently high cortisol levels, which can harm the body.

A women stress about her work and the cortisol increasing

One of the most significant effects of chronically elevated cortisol levels is weight gain, particularly around the abdomen. This is because cortisol can stimulate the appetite, leading to overeating, and can also promote the storage of fat in the abdominal region.

Therefore, it is important to find ways to manage and reduce stress in order to maintain a healthy weight and overall well-being.

Engaging in stress-relieving activities, such as yoga, meditation, or simply taking a walk in nature, can help manage cortisol levels. This, in turn, can help to control body weight and reduce the risk of visceral fat accumulation.

What Is Visceral Fat, and How Can You Detect It?

Visceral fat, also known as “deep fat,” is body fat that’s stored within the abdominal cavity. It’s located around a number of important internal organs, such as the liver, pancreas, and intestines. This differentiates it from subcutaneous fat, which is stored under the skin and can be easily seen and measured.

Visceral fat is considered dangerous because of its association with a higher risk of several health problems, such as an increased risk of heart attack, type 2 diabetes, inflammation, high blood pressure, and certain types of cancer.

The medical BIA test is one of the great option in calculating your body fat percentage, including visceral fat, by measuring the resistance of an electric current as it moves through your body.

This method allows you to understand your visceral fat in a noninvasive, low-cost, and radiation-free way. By taking an InBody test, one of the professional BIA tests available at InBody locations, you can gain insight into your visceral fat and take the first step toward making positive lifestyle changes.

Final Thoughts on Hormones and Body Composition

It is important to understand that the impact of hormones on our body weight is not a simple, straightforward process. There are a multitude of hormones at play, and they all interact with each other in complex ways that are still not fully understood by scientists. Although insulin and cortisol play a significant role in body weight, they do not act alone. They interact with other hormones and bodily processes and are influenced by lifestyle factors like diet, exercise, and sleep.

Therefore, it is not enough to simply focus on a single hormone when it comes to weight management. Rather, a holistic approach with healthcare professionals is necessary, one that takes into account all of the different hormones and factors that can influence body weight. By adopting healthy habits, such as eating a balanced diet, getting regular exercise, and getting enough sleep, we can promote a hormonal balance that supports our weight management efforts.

Jan 18 2023
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An obese child is having french fries

Childhood Obesity: Impacts on your child’s growth

By BIA, Blog, Body Composition, Body Composition Analysis, Fat mass, Nutrition

Overview

Body fat monitoring is critical for your child’s health, particularly in preventing childhood obesity. Excess body fat can lead to negative health impacts such as weakened immunity, chronic disease, and poor learning capacity. Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) is one of the methods suggested to measure children’s body fat and evaluate their overall health effectively.

Understand the role of body fat in your child’s growth

You may already be aware that excessive body fat has a number of harmful effects that are being discovered by researchers. Not to mention the flood of awareness about childhood obesity posts in your social media newsfeed.

To most people, body fat may sound incredibly terrifying. But, in reality, body fat is a necessary part of your child’s body that provides energy, supports brain development, and aids in the absorption of vital nutrients such as fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, and K).

Children height and growth

Nevertheless, higher body fat may have an adverse impact on child growth. According to a study, obesity and excess weight have different effects on boys and girls when it comes to the onset of puberty. It can speed up puberty in girls while delaying it in boys.

What does it mean if puberty happens sooner?

Researchers discovered that once puberty is over, growth stops. These children stop growing sooner because early-onset puberty ends earlier than usual puberty. The final findings show that children who reach puberty earlier have a shorter overall adult height.

An obese child is having french fries

Causes of childhood obesity

Despite the fact that parents’ genetic and hormonal factors can play a role in childhood obesity, study show that the diet provided to your child has a significant impact on their healthy growth.

Your child requires a certain number of calories for growth and development. When they eat more calories than they burn, their bodies store the excess calories as fat.

A poor diet high in fat or sugar and low in nutrients can cause children to gain body fat quickly. Fast food, candy, and soft drinks are all common foods that contribute to the problems.

Lack of exercise is another factor in childhood obesity. When people of all ages are less active, they tend to gain weight. Abnormally long screen time is a major potential barrier to your child being active.

Drawing of childhood obesity

Long-term effects of childhood obesity

You may already be aware that excessive body fat has a number of harmful effects that are being discovered by researchers.

A higher body weight gained during childhood usually indicates a higher accumulation of body fat over time. According to WHO and research, childhood obesity may have various negative impact to your child:

  • breathing difficulties
  • increased risk of fractures
  • hypertension
  • heart disease
  • insulin resistance
  • poor learning capacity
  • lower emotional well-being

Furthermore, if childhood obesity is not addressed at an early stage. This may lead to long-term consequences in their adulthood, such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Examine the best ways to protect your child from childhood obesity.

Measuring body fat in your child

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is the most common tool to check whether your child is overweight. Healthcare professionals frequently use BMI-for-age growth charts from the CDC or WHO to monitor children ‘s growth. A BMI above the recommended range could indicate excessive body fat.

However, BMI does not directly measure body fat. It is a calculation based on weight and height. In other words, it does not take into account factors such as muscle mass, water weight, and bone density changes in your child.

For example, a child who has a normal BMI may still have a high body fat percentage. This is why it is important to use other methods to measure body fat. This could give you a more accurate picture of your child’s health.

There are many ways to test your child’s body fat to determine if it is within the normal range.

InBody devices are one of the methods for measuring your child’s body fat effectively. The technique named Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) is implemented in InBody devices.

As BIA technology measures body fat in a quick, painless, and non-invasive manner, it is a safe and comfortable option for children. All your kids have to do is stand on the machine and hold the handles for less than a minute.

It can give you more insight into your child’s weight by providing their body composition information, including their body water, muscle mass, and body fat percentage. This information is useful to assess your child’s growth and health over time.

Following a comprehensive test with InBody, a complete result sheet will be printed out on which you can observe your kid’s health condition.

Child's Muscle-Fat AnalysisAccording to the image above, which is part of the sample printed result sheet, this normal weight child has a higher Body Fat Mass than the normal range according to the child’s gender and height.

It would be helpful if your family doctors or other healthcare professionals could assist you in interpreting the results. This information could help you learn more about your child’s health.

More importantly, you’ll be able to have a more productive discussion and make an informed decision about what you can do to prevent childhood obesity.

Start to monitor your child’s body composition at the selected InBody locations!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nov 10 2022
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How often should you test body composition?

By BIA, Blog, Body Composition, Fat mass, Nutrition, Press

When it comes to weight loss, most people often use a weighing scale to track their progress. However, for better progress tracking, you need to test body composition rather than just weight loss monitoring.

Let’s say you’ve just started a new workout routine recently. Every morning, you eagerly weigh yourself to monitor your progress. Unfortunately, the static number shown on the scale could be truly upsetting.

An upset man is holding a weighing scale.

Without a doubt, weight measurements are used frequently in to track weigh loss. However, even though the number on the scale has remained the same, you might not be aware that your body has undergone some changes.

The scale counts everything, including your bones, muscles, fat, and every sip of water and food you consume. In other words, weighing scales cannot differentiate what you’re gaining (which might just be water) or losing (which might be muscle or fat).

Here’s where the body composition measurement comes in. Simply put, your body’s composition is the sum of its amounts of body fat, muscle, bone, and water. Body composition analysis determines your body’s proportions of fat mass and lean mass by looking beyond your weight and the traditional Body Mass Index (BMI).

InBody used in body composition test

How to test your body composition?

There are many ways to test your body composition. Some are quick and simple but only offer basic information. Some tests need to be administered by a qualified technician and are time-consuming and expensive.

InBody devices measure your body composition using a technique known as Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA), which divides your weight into different components such as lean body mass, fat mass, body water and minerals to assess health and nutrition status.

InBody body composition test for company employees

How often should you test the body composition?

When deciding how often to test your body composition, take into account your goal, timeframe, and whether you are currently following to a new wellness or dietary program. 

A study observed body fat mass reductions of up to 2.5kg for 48 obese adults under a 2-week nutrition program with nutrition drink supplementation in conjunction with body composition monitoring using InBody.

Therefore, if you’re actively engaging in a new lifestyle change, it’s recommended that you take the InBody test every two to three weeks. Meanwhile, if you have been actively involved in a wellness or fitness program, you may notice a faster change within one to two weeks. Dedicated effort and precisely measured results can often inspire you to persevere to reach your fitness goal. If your fitness goal timeframe is longer, you may consider taking the test less frequently.

Meanwhile, it is recommended that you only use one measurement method and same machine for your body composition test on your fitness journey. You might be able to obtain the results more precisely in this manner. This is because various types of body composition test machines may use varied measurement techniques.

Set your fitness goal

Set your goal using InBody now！

It’s important to know how long it will take your body to make the desired changes after beginning a new fitness and nutrition plan. The InBody test could be an effective way to keep track of changes in your body composition. With the right information, you can set realistic goals for your muscle gain and fat loss that can be accomplished in a reasonable amount of time.

Guidance to set your fat loss goal with InBody (1)

Nov 04 2022
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Losing visceral fat is important for diabetics

Lose visceral fat – Why is losing visceral fat important for diabetics?

By Blog, Diabetes, Fat mass, Press

It’s World Diabetes Day on November 14. Speaking of diabetes, people frequently assume that the only treatment for diabetics is medication. It is frequently overlooked how important it is for diabetics to adopt a lifestyle dedicated to lose visceral fat to improve blood glucose control.

Only overweight individuals develop diabetes?

Diabetes patients who are normal weight or underweight should also be given attention when it comes to losing body fat, rather than just diabetics who are obese.

According to a research article published, the researchers discovered that the visceral fat cell sizes of lean diabetics were larger, which is related to the development of diabetes.

What is visceral fat?

There are two types of body fat in our body – subcutaneous fat and visceral fat. Subcutaneous fat is what you feel when you poke your stomach because it is soft and close to the skin. However, visceral fat cannot be felt because it surrounds your organs beneath your abdominal wall.

Visceral fat, commonly known as belly fat, is extremely dangerous in large amounts and has been linked to a number of health complications, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, and others.

How is visceral fat related to diabetes?

Having a lot of visceral fat is associated to insulin resistance. According to the findings, visceral fat secretes retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4), which has been shown to cause insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance occurs when your body cells in the muscles, fat, and liver do not respond well to insulin in order to absorb glucose from the blood. The pancreas continues to produce insulin in an attempt to get cells to respond.

When the pancreas eventually can’t keep up, blood sugar levels keep rising, which can cause type 2 diabetes and glucose intolerance. 

How can you check if you have a lot of visceral fat?

 Here are three options:

  1. Waist measurement

Checking your waist circumference is a convenient tool that can be done by using cutoff points for Asians (90 cm for men and 80 cm for women). However, measuring with a tape measure along the fat loss progress may not be consistent and may underestimate your visceral fat loss.

  1. Computed tomography (CT) scan

A computed tomography (CT) scan allows for the accurate analysis of subcutaneous and visceral fat separately. However, this requires access to a facility that has a unit, and a test can be costly. On top of that, you might need to be exposed to radiation.

  1. Professional Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA)

A medical BIA test is an excellent alternative to a CT scan. This test calculate your body fat percentage, which includes visceral fat, by measuring the resistance of an electric current as it moves through your body. 

This method would allow you to understand your visceral fat in a noninvasive, low-cost, and radiation-free manner. An InBody test, one of the professional BIA tests, can help you understand your visceral fat and take the first step toward changing your lifestyle for the better.

Want to know how to check visceral fat on the InBody result sheet?

Download the free interpretation poster right away.

How to lose visceral fat as a diabetics?

According to the study, a combination of diet and exercise can result in a 12.8% reduction in visceral fat and a 16% decrease in fasting glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes. It also matters what kind of exercise is most effective to lose visceral fat and improve diabetes control.

Furthermore, take your medication as prescribed by your doctor and monitor your blood glucose levels and visceral fat on a regular basis. If you learn that reducing visceral fat is beneficial to your blood glucose condition as a diabetic, this may keep you motivated to lead a healthier life.

Aug 26 2021
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Body Fat Percentage doesn’t always give a complete picture 

By Blog, Body Composition, Fat mass, Fitness, Muscle

If you’re using body composition tools like calipers to measure your body fat percentage to assess your health, then you’re already ahead of most (like those who are still using BMI).

But be aware that body fat percentage doesn’t always paint a complete picture when it comes to body composition. What’s more, decreases in your body fat percentage don’t always mean fat loss.  That’s because body fat percentage is a simple equation of your fat mass divided by your total weight.

Percentage Body Fat = Body Fat Mass / Total Body Weight

In some ways, body fat percentage is the most basic of all body composition results, because it only requires your Fat, Fat-Free Mass (or Lean Body Mass), and total weight.

While fat and fat-free mass are enough to give you a body fat percentage value, it isn’t always enough to explain changes in body fat percentages or give enough information to determine whether your body fat levels are healthy. You will get much more context about what your body fat percentage means if you look at it alongside things like Skeletal Muscle Mass. These are the muscles in your body that you can grow and develop through exercise.

Without assessing your amount of Skeletal Muscle Mass, your body composition assessments are going to be incomplete.  You won’t be able to fully understand the changes in your body fat percentage, and you may also be misled by what your body fat percentage means.  Here are a few examples:

1. You’re working out, but body fat percentage doesn’t change (or increases)

This situation can occur when you are working out to gain muscle in order to improve your physique, but you aren’t seeing the changes in the mirror that you hoped to see as quickly as you’d like. When you check your body fat percentage, you don’t see any change despite a month of hard workouts. What’s going on?

The first thing to check is to see if your weight has changed. It probably has. If your weight has increased but your body fat percentage remains unchanged, this likely means that your SMM is increasing at the same time as your Fat Mass. As you increase musculature, fat gain can occur due to the caloric surpluses required to increase SMM. This is a well-recognized phenomenon and is commonly referred to in gym-speak as “bulking.”

 

Additionally, situations can occur in which after initial drops in body fat percentage, the percentage rises right back where it used to be after a couple months.  Why?

This is because your body has entered what is referred to as an anabolic state – the condition in which your body increases muscle production.  Your body will require more calories than what you’re used to in order to build more muscle than it had before.

Not all of these calories, however, are going toward muscle development.  Being in a calorie surplus can lead to fat gain as well, which can cause an increase in body fat percentage.

2. You’re Losing Weight, But Your Body Fat % Doesn’t Change (or increases)

Similar to #1, this situation also involves little or no change in body fat percentage but instead of occurring due to anabolism, this time, catabolism is the driving force behind the change.

In catabolism, the body is focused on reducing tissue, not building it.  In order to lose weight, especially fat, the body should be in a catabolic state; in order to be in a catabolic state, the body needs to be in a caloric deficit (taking in fewer calories than needed).  In gym speak, this is referred to as “cutting.”

If you observe that you’re losing weight, but you don’t see the results in the mirror that you’d like to see and notice that your body fat percentage is unchanged, this is because your SMM and Fat Mass are actually decreasing together.

 

Why would Skeletal Muscle Mass decrease when you’re trying to target body fat only?  Although there isn’t a singular cause, the majority of the time this is caused by improper training and diet.

Most weight loss is a combination of body fat and skeletal muscle.  That much is unavoidable. For this reason, preserving or even increasing muscle becomes a priority when encouraging the body to enter a catabolic state.  This means ensuring your nutrient intake is balanced while engaging in some kind of resistance or weight training.

Many people neglect these important precautions and cause their body to metabolize muscle as well as fat.  Depending on how much muscle is lost, body fat percentages can drop extremely slowly, stay the same, or in extreme circumstances, increase.

3. Your Body Fat Percentage is Acceptable, But You’re Underweight

At first, this doesn’t seem like it makes sense – how can you be at a healthy body fat percentage, but not be healthy overall?  Simple: you’re underweight.

Underweight individuals may have enviable body fat percentages which can lead some people into believing that they are healthier than they actually are. However, if you are underweight, this means that you don’t have enough muscle mass.  Being underweight doesn’t get as much popular attention as being overweight does, but over time, being underweight can lead to the development of osteoporosis, which is diagnosed when a person has low bone density.

Not having enough muscle mass will also become problematic if you get sick.  When you become sick, the body’s need for amino acids to power its immune and recovery processes increases, and it will look to your muscle mass for those amino acids.  Essentially, your body will start to break down muscle in order to fight and recover from disease, and if you’re underweight with a healthy body fat percentage, you won’t have enough muscle to easily fight off illness.

4. Your Body Fat Percentage is Acceptable, But You Have Muscle Imbalances

Even if you are at a healthy weight and have an acceptable body fat percentage, only having Fat and Fat-Free Mass as results can hide potential issues. Because Fat-Free Mass is a catchall term for everything in your body that isn’t attributed to fat, an absolute value for Fat-Free Mass can’t describe how well developed this mass is in terms of your overall body composition.  In order to see that, you would need to take a closer look at how this mass is distributed segmentally.

Specifically, people can have well developed Lean Body Mass areas in some parts of their bodies but not in others.  Some people prefer developing upper body muscle while neglecting lower body muscle development. Others may have what’s referred to as a bilateral imbalance, which occurs when one side of the body is stronger than the other.  Here’s what that looks like from a body composition analysis viewpoint:

In this example, this person has almost one pound of muscle difference between their right and left arm.  Although this might seem more of an aesthetic problem, significant muscle imbalances such as the one shown above can also contribute towards injury.  Shoulder muscle imbalances in volleyball players, for example, have been shown to increase the onset of shoulder pain and injury.

It’s Just One Number

Although your body fat percentage is a very significant and useful number, relying on any one number, even an important number like body fat percentage, will never provide you with a complete picture about your overall health.  While body fat percentage is a very good way to assess your weight, it only takes Body Fat (and by extension Fat-Free) Mass and Weight into account.

In order to maintain your weight and understand the changes that your body experiences over time, including your change in body fat percentage, you will need more specific values than just Fat and Fat-Free Mass.  If you don’t compare your body fat percentage to Skeletal Muscle Mass, you won’t be able to:

  • Understand increases and decreases in body fat percentage
  • Maintain a healthy body fat percentage in respect to a healthy weight and muscle mass level
  • Determine if your muscles are balanced

Your body is a very complex system of many components all working together. That is why it is very important to get as much information as possible in order to understand your weight and your health properly. Calipers are a good a start, but in order to assess whether you have a healthy body composition try devices like a DSM-BIA device, that will go beyond body fat percentage and give you your muscle mass and body water results.

Nov 02 2018
Love0

Is Your Dad Bod In-Style or Unhealthy?

By Fat mass, Health

Men have been working out to increase muscle mass for decades. Every generation comes up with new phrases that refer to this phenomenon, such as getting “ripped” or “swole” or “yoked,” as a result of men searching for the optimal physique that has been influenced by athletes, movie stars and other public figures.  In recent years, a new opposing trend has emerged in pop culture known as the Dad Bod. Instead of marveling at the muscular look, celebrities and every-men alike have embraced a rough-around-the-edges approach to the male aesthetic.

The term Dad Bod has been used to classify men who are slightly overweight and don’t possess a sculpted frame. The positive attention this new trend has received could be seen as an effort to promote a positive self-image in men who otherwise may have had some insecurities about the way they look. Society embracing an archetype that is more attainable by a higher percentage of the male population is an uplifting occurrence and allows men to realize that you don’t have to have the perfect body to be considered healthy and attractive. The human body does need a certain level of fat to survive, as fat serves as an insulator for your core body temperature and aids with hormone production. However, with obesity rates higher than ever, it’s important to emphasize weight management and metabolic health, so recognizing body types that are close to the optimal body fat range is a good start to improving general health.

The focus on Dad Bods have provided a positive shift in visual standards and self-image, which is very beneficial for the male population, but they can also promote dangerous habits as well. Here is how you can tell if your Dad Bod is a good look or evidence of an unhealthy lifestyle:

Avoid These Behaviors

Dad Bods are thought by many to be caused by typical “dad” activities: eating a lot, drinking a lot, and exercising very little. You have probably seen on multiple occasions the “TV Dad”, sitting in his arm chair with a big plate of food and a beer, glued to his big screen. Making these activities an everyday routine can be a recipe for disaster on your health. While having the chiseled muscle tone of a bodybuilder seems like a far cry for TV Dad and other regular joes, moderation is almost always the way to go, and achieving your Dad Bod look shouldn’t exclude you from living a healthy lifestyle.

Overeating 

Overeating is a common problem in the present day, as taking in more calories than you need leads to the body storing the excess as fat. Too much body fat leads to a myriad of health issues, such as metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Overeating over extended periods of time can also lead to the development of visceral fat, which is a dense collection of fat tissue that sits in the trunk and surrounds the organs. Visceral fat is harder to get rid of, and often forms as a result of weight gain during adulthood. Its presence in the abdominal region causes the risk of hypertension to increase significantly, especially in younger men. It’s never too early to take control of your diet, as the habits you pick up during your college years can have long-term consequences and build an unhealthy base for your Dad Bod. Limit your caloric intake, and add more variety to your diet to avoid developing visceral fat around your waist.

Lack of Exercise

One way to offset the extra calories and combat the metabolic conditions that can be caused by a poor diet is regular exercise. However, even if you don’t think you carry a bunch of extra weight, a regular exercise regimen is important to ensure that you aren’t skinny fat. You don’t need to possess the muscle tone of a bodybuilder, but skeletal muscle tissue plays a large role in breaking down carbohydrates and promoting other regular body functions. The only way to develop muscle tissue is through exercise, so it can’t be ruled out even if you believe you have reached an acceptable weight.

An easy way to determine if you have solid metabolic health, no matter what body type you have, is to examine your lean muscle mass compared to your body fat. Those with Dad Bods should consider adding an exercise program to their daily routine, especially resistance training, as the benefits are too vital to pass up.

Excess Alcohol Consumption

Plenty of men have enjoyed an ice-cold beer, or two, or three… you get the point. The “beer belly,’ which is often considered the flag for dad bods, is also a common sign of years of excessive alcohol consumption. Alcoholic beverages aren’t inherently unhealthy, as moderate alcohol consumption (1 drink per day for women and 2 for men) can actually have positive health effects. The line between alcohol benefiting your health and hurting your health is an extremely fine one, as that second or third drink pushes you into excess alcohol consumption, which brings similar health problems as overeating or a lack of exercise.

The “beer belly” also refers to the collection of visceral fat, which emphasizes the need for moderation, as the collection of fat around the organs is difficult to get rid of, and carries an elevated risk of metabolic syndrome. While a perfectly trim waist does not need to be the goal for every man, avoiding adding mass through too many drinks is crucial to preventing metabolic syndrome and creating a healthy body.

Find a Happy Medium

The magic of the Dad Bod is that imperfections are appreciated instead of judged. Perfection is a goal that can’t be reached, but a healthier lifestyle is easily attainable. In order to have a Dad Bod that is also healthy, you must find a happy medium between positive body image and healthy body composition.

Applying the Dad Bod mindset to your daily choices is a great way to improve your health. Instead of tackling an intense diet, emphasize making a few healthy choices. Pick a smaller portion at your next meal or add some color to your plate with different produce options. With the obesity epidemic affecting populations all over the world, simple methods to improve nutrition can make all of the difference.

The formation of the Dad Bod trend has addressed a troubling side effect of social media, in which individuals work to develop the appearance of a successful life, instead of actually doing the work to create that success. Embracing your Dad Bod means separating the stigma of working out, which is now viewed as obsessive and self-involved. Exercise should be viewed as a therapeutic activity which is used to improve emotional and physical health. Working out doesn’t have to completely transform your appearance. It can just transform your quality of life.

Maintain Your Healthy Dad Bod

You have a Dad Bod, which wasn’t a big deal 10 years ago, but now is the desired look. That’s a great position to be in, but don’t let the trend negatively affect your health. Remember that having a Dad Bod doesn’t preclude you from making healthy choices. Moderation in eating and drinking is key, and exercise is a valuable addition to your daily life. Instead of seeking perfection in your appearance and lifestyle, just appreciate how you look and strive to improve your unhealthy practices little by little.

The Dad Bod trend is an encouraging development in the world of self-image. If used correctly, a positive shift in social norms and overall health can occur. The “perfect physique” should be whatever Bod you have now, but your health and body composition can still be a work in progress. Strive for regular improvement, not perfection. That’s what the Dad Bod is all about.

**

Evan Hadrick is a former collegiate track athlete who graduated from the University of Miami and currently works as a track & Field/Cross Country coach and athletic administrator in Dallas, TX. You can read more of his work at StateoftheU.com, where he is an assistant editor contributing sports commentary about University of Miami athletics.

Source: https://inbodyusa.com/blogs/inbodyblog/is-your-dad-bod-in-style-or-unhealthy/
Nov 02 2018
Love2

How Body Fat Sabotages Your Immune System

By Fat mass, Health

If there’s one thing everyone can agree on, it’s that no one likes being sick.

What if there was something you could do to improve your health and reduce your sick days?

As it turns out, having a healthy body composition contributes to a stronger immune system, helping you to resist minor infections and reduce your risk of getting serious diseases, like heart disease and diabetes.

What’s a healthy body composition? Put simply, there are two main areas of focus: sufficiently developed muscle mass and a body fat percentage in a healthy range  (10-20% for men; 18-28% for women).

Unfortunately, over ⅔ of Americans are classified as overweight, with a shocking 1/3 of Americans classified as obese . Americans are on average heavier than any other time in history. There has been a similar increase in heart disease and diabetes diagnoses. That is why the CDC says obesity is an epidemic in this country.

How does this tie back into the immune system and your health? It all has to do with the nature of body fat.

What Happens When Your Immune System Activates

When your body gets sick – due to a bacterial infection, a virus, etc. – the body’s defense system gets triggered, causing inflammation.  This is thanks to your “innate” immune response: your body’s all-purpose defense mechanism that serves as the first wave of defense against foreign invaders.

The infected area becomes red and swollen due to increased blood flow, which can be unsightly and uncomfortable. Think of what happens to your nose when you get a cold. That’s inflammation.

This reaction is caused by white blood cells called macrophages and the proteins they emit called cytokines (this word will be important in a minute). These cytokines encourage inflammation.

You may have not thought of it this way before, but inflammation that’s triggered by your immune system is typically a good thing. That means your body is releasing the appropriate hormones and proteins, activating your white blood cells to start the recovery process, and working to defeat the infection.  If there wasn’t any inflammation, your body would be in serious trouble.

So if inflammation is what naturally occurs when your body’s immune system is triggered, how does inflammation relate to body fat, body composition, and obesity?

When Inflammation Becomes Permanent

When white blood cells cause inflammation, it’s a sign that your body’s immune system is properly functioning. Inflammation begins, white blood cells attack the foreign invader, the invader is neutralized, and the inflammation subsides.

This is how your body’s defense system naturally works. However, white blood cells aren’t the only type of cell that have the ability to emit cytokines.  A second type of cell that can emit cytokines and cause inflammation are adipocytes or fat cells.

Most people know that your body stores excess calories as fat so that you can use it later for energy if food becomes scarce.  

Just recently, scientists have learned that fat is an active endocrine organ, one that can secrete a whole host of proteins and chemicals, including inflammatory cytokines.

What happens when your body keeps adding on more and more adipose tissue?  Cytokines are released by your fat cells, triggering inflammation. In fact, obesity is characterized by researchers as “ a state of low-grade, chronic inflammation.”

This means that increased fat cells puts your body in a constant state of stress/immune response. Your body is always in a state of inflammation; your immune system is permanently “switched on.”

Think of your body’s immune system like your body’s crack team of defenders, highly trained and designed to repel any and all foreign invaders.  In this scenario, your adipose cells are like enemy agents planted in your home territory. Their mission is to spread fear of an attack at all times, and they trick your defenders to be on high alert at all times.

As you might have guessed, perpetual, never-ending inflammation isn’t good for the body.

Sabotaged Immune System

Obesity causes a state of chronic inflammation, and this causes your immune system to become compromised.  Chronic inflammation is a serious issue and can lead to the development of minor and serious illness and conditions.  Here are a couple examples:

  • Influenza (the flu)

You may remember several years ago that there was a particularly deadly strain of the flu virus called H1N1.  As hospitals started to fill up with the sick, doctors in Spain noticed something: overweight and obese patients were beginning to show up in disproportionate numbers in intensive care units, and they were staying for longer than people who were not obese or overweight. Increased inflammation due to increased pro-inflammatory cytokines appeared to be a leading factor contributing to their increased flu risk.

Stories like these led  researchers in Canada to analyze the flu records for the previous 12 years, stretching from 2008 back to 1996. They found that people who were obese were more likely to come into the hospital for respiratory diseases than those who were not obese. They concluded that obese people were an “at risk” population during flu seasons due to their compromised immune response.

  • Heart Disease

Heart disease is the leading killer of adults in the United States.  Although there are many factors that can contribute to heart disease, recent research has pointed to inflammation caused by obesity as one of the most significant factors contributing to its development.

The main culprits are, again, the cytokines produced by excess fat in the body.  These cytokines cause inflammation of the walls of your arteries, causing damage to the arteries and increasing pressure. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of your blood vessels. When you have high blood pressure, it means that your heart isn’t pumping blood effectively, and it starts to enlarge. An enlarged heart is a significant risk factor that can lead to heart failure if steps aren’t taken to remedy it.

  • Diabetes

Diabetes is a condition characterized by insulin resistance – the inability of your body to remove excess sugar from your blood. Just like heart disease, there are many related factors that lead to the onset of type 2 diabetes, and obesity has long been associated with the development of diabetes.

However, with the discovery that fat is an active tissue that can secrete cytokines and wreak havoc on the immune system, researchers have been able to show a link between obesity, inflammation, and insulin resistance. Increased inflammation was shown to disturb a whole host of processes and the endocrine system. When obesity and the subsequent inflammation is left unchecked for a long time, it increases the risk of developing insulin resistance, and eventually diabetes.

Who’s At Risk?

A compromised immune system and inflammation aren’t issues that only concern overweight people.

Many people know that being overweight and obese is unhealthy and can lead to serious diseases over time.  Admittedly, poor diet and low levels of activity contributing to heart disease and diabetes over time in obese people isn’t exactly news.

Unless you start to take into account what the word “obese” actually means.

Classically, obesity has been defined by having a high Body Mass Index (BMI), a way of expressing the relationship of your weight vs. your height.  If your BMI exceeds 25, you’re labeled “overweight,” and once your BMI increases beyond 30, you progress into different levels of obesity.

Doctors have used BMI for obesity assessment for years, but unfortunately, BMI has led to confusion by inappropriately labeling people as obese or overweight when they are not, or healthy when they should be aware of their obesity risks.

Obesity doesn’t always simply mean “fat.” What obesity does mean is the excess accumulation of body fat, but what’s excess for you might not be for someone else. It is possible to have a “normal” BMI but a lot of excess fat; this is called being “skinny fat.”  Crucially, skinny fat people share many of the same metabolic risks as people who have high BMIs, including the risk of inflammation and a faulty immune system.

This is why you should look at having too much body fat not only as a problem for people who are visibly overweight, but also for people who don’t have enough muscle relative to how much body fat they have.

One way to determine whether you’re at risk is to have your body composition analyzed.  This assessment method will reveal your body fat percentage, a number that you can use to understand if the amount of fat you have is healthy or excessive for someone of your size.

How To Get Your Immune System Back In Line

Fortunately, because researchers have been able to identify body fat (and particularly, internal visceral fat)  as a major cause of inflammation and a compromised immune system, they’ve also been able to measure improvements when body fat is reduced. The goal to getting your immune system to function properly again is to stop it from being perpetually triggered.

In a study that followed obese patients who lost weight with caloric restriction and bariatric surgery, the researchers observed a significant reduction in immune system activation, which means less inflammation.  This reduction in immune activation occurred before and after surgery, which indicates that surgery isn’t always necessary: just the reduction of fat mass – and specifically, visceral fat.

Improving your body composition through a mix of strategies that promote fat loss and muscle gain can allow you to reduce your fat mass in a healthy manner that doesn’t require drastic measures like bariatric surgery.  Although this process can and will take time, the effects of having an improved and healthy body composition are immense, not the least of which is reducing overall body inflammation and having your immune system function properly again.

Healthy Immune System, Healthy Life

We’ve gone over a lot of very technical stuff here, so let’s go over the main points for you to take away.

  • Excess Body fat sabotages your immune system by leaving it permanently triggered
  • Inflammation caused by body fat makes you sicker and more vulnerable to disease
  • You can reduce and reverse these changes by reducing your body fat
  • Anyone can be at risk, depending on their body fat percentage, not their weight

No one likes being sick, and no one likes having to manage diseases like diabetes that stick around for a lifetime. To help you avoid these problems, one of the best ways to determine if your body fat is excessive and/or causing inflammation is to have your body fat percentage determined.

Once you have your body fat percentage, you can compare it against the normal ranges for men and women.  For men, you’ll want to be no higher than about 20% body fat; for women, try to stay under about 28%. These ranges may vary slightly depending on whichever source you consult, but these are good guidelines and agree with the ranges set by the American College of Sports Medicine and American Council on Exercise.

If you reduce your fat mass to a healthy range, you will subsequently reduce inflammation and boost your immune system. Having a killer “beach bod” may not motivate you, but what about a healthy body and fewer sick days?

Everyone should see the value in that.

 

Source: https://inbodyusa.com/blogs/inbodyblog/101219009-how-body-fat-sabotages-your-immune-system/

 

Nov 02 2018
Love0

Eating Fat Doesn’t Make You Fat

By Body Composition, Fat mass

If you went to primary school in the 90s, you probably remember this diagram from a nutrition class.

food pyramid nutrition

 

Released in the U.S. in 1992, the food pyramid was designed as an easy way for people to remember which foods they should be getting their calories from and the relative importance of each. Carbs were healthy and good, and so they formed the base; fats were bad and placed at the top. The fat category lumped everything together from healthy fats like Omega-3s and olive oil to saturated fats and sugar. This concept helped trigger the fat-free craze. Although this concept seems pretty normal to us now, at the time in the late 1970s it was actually considered quite radical – so much so that then-president of the National Academy of Sciences, Philip Handler, described the proposed shift as a “vast nutritional experiment.” Essentially, the Dietary Guidelines suggested that people eat less fat and get more calories from bread, grains, rice, pasta, etc. This was intended to protect Americans from weight gain and heart disease. This is why the “high carb, low fat” diet seem familiar and normal to you, and probably why you think eating fat makes you fat.  

What was the result of this recommendation?

Beginning at around the time when the guidelines were first recommended in 1977 and their release to the public in 1980, the percentage of Americans classified as obese increase almost 20% as they followed the government’s advice to cut fat and increase carbs. Why have obesity rates in the United States skyrocketed over the last 18 years? Because the idea that “fat makes you fat” is wrong. Fat is just another nutrient source, same as carbohydrates and protein.  What makes you fat is taking in more energy (calories) in a day than you use. That’s called being in a caloric surplus.

While this might seem like a somewhat challenging thought, fat isn’t solely to blame for weight gain, and it’s not fair to even say it’s a major factor in weight gain.  At fault is a confusing mishmash of terminology, the negative connotation of fat over the past generations, and a pesky little diagram that’s been imprinted in the minds of generations of Americans.

Let’s take a look at how fat got a bad rap to see what you really should be thinking about when you’re trying to lose weight.

Eating Fat Is Not the Same as Becoming Fat

Part of the reason people get confused and think that the fat they eat makes their body store fat is because we use the interchangeably to describe both body fat and dietary fat.

  • Body Fat = Adipose Tissue

The fat that is stored by our bodies is more accurately called “adipose tissue.” Adipose tissue stores are made up of primary adipocytes or fat cells and are responsible, among other things, with storing excess energy for times when you’re not able to give your body the energy it needs in a given day.

Body fat/adipose tissue is essential for survival.  Anyone with a body fat percentage of 0% would not be alive. When you cut your body fat level down to what’s called your “essential fat” – the fat needed to maintain a healthy and functioning body – complications arise.

Take the example of bodybuilders, who in a sense could be defined as “professional body fat cutters”.  When bodybuilders get into competitive shape, they try to lose as much body fat as possible in order to achieve more muscle definition.  Often, this can lead to some health complications that they don’t frequently advertise.

For example, in a 2013 study a competitive male bodybuilder preparing for competition was continuously observed 6 months prior to competing and 6 months after. During that time frame, the bodybuilder was able reduce his body fat percentage from 14.8% to 4.5% by competition time.

In the process of losing all this fat, the researchers observed various complications:

Of note, many of the physiological changes observed including an elevation in cortisol, reduction in testosterone, reduction in testosterone, reduction in immune function, alterations in mood status, and decreases in physical performance and maximal heart rate that occurred during the preparation period are consistent with markers of overtraining.

Rossow, et al (2013)

Contrary to popular belief, the study shows that a very low body fat percentage can disrupt important biological process and can actually be detrimental to your health!

  • Dietary Fat = Macronutrient

The fat you eat is dietary fat and is one of the three essential macronutrients your body can get energy from.

When we talk about calories, we’re actually talking about some combination of the three macronutrients: carbohydrates, protein, and fat.

Let’s examine a standard nutrition label. What do you see?

Although they’re not labeled as such, you’ll see the three macronutrients listed there – which we’ve underlined – along with the grams of each.  Each macronutrient contributes a certain numbers of calories to the total caloric content of the food.

  • Carbohydrate: 4 calories per gram
  • Protein: 4 calories per gram
  • Fat: 9 calories per gram

You can actually multiply the grams by the calories and add them together to get the total calorie number listed at the top of the label (this one actually comes out to 232, but the government allows rounding to the nearest 10).

This bears repeating: fat is a macronutrient. It isn’t necessarily bad on its own.  Furthermore, you need dietary fat. That’s because your body can make all the fatty acids it needs, except for two: linoleic acid and linolenic acid.  These two necessary substances have to be found in your diet.

Would you believe that people actually used to eat more fat than they do now and at the time obesity rates that were much lower? It’s true, they did, and it’s true – obesity rates used to be much lower.  So if increased fat isn’t making you fat, what is?

What’s Actually Making You Fat?

Too many calories, probably from carbs.

Eating more calories than your body uses and needs in a day causes you to gain weight, and Americans continue to eat more and more calories with each passing year.

According to the USDA, from 1970 to 2000, the total number of daily calories that Americans ate increased by 530 calories, an increase of 24.5%. During the same time period, the percentage of Americans categorized as obese increased dramatically.

What happened?

Americans started to eat more calories.  This is surprising when you consider that carbohydrates contain less than half the calories (4 Cal) that fat (9 Cal) does, gram for gram. Shouldn’t shifting away from fats and towards carbs just reduce overall caloric intake, just by simple math? It doesn’t work that way if you just eat more carbohydrates. You see, consumption of a high carbohydrate diet can trigger something called “reactive hypoglycemia.” This is a condition experienced by people who do not have diabetes and are otherwise healthy. Among its symptoms is a feeling of hunger. 

Guess what’s the best way to make that hunger go away? Eat more carbs – your body will be craving them.  And since carbs were supposed to be the largest macronutrient source anyway, most people didn’t think twice about having a snack that consisted of bread, rice, or something else carb-heavy.

By advising people to eat less fat and eat more carbohydrates, the government actually made the obesity problem far worse.  Recognizing the sharp increase in obesity, the food pyramid was revised in 2005 and ultimately retired in 2011 in favor of what the USDA now calls “My Plate,” which gives people a much better visualization of the relative importance of each food category by showing roughly how much space each should take up on a plate.

 

To be clear, neither carbohydrates nor fats on their own cause you to gain weight – it’s just that you tend to eat more calories when your diet is focused on carbohydrates over fat.  Being in a caloric surplus causes you to gain weight. A carb-heavy diet makes it very easy to be in a caloric surplus.

So I Can Throw Away the Low Fat Options?

If you’re smart about it, yes, but you still have to be careful.

Remember, it’s not the fat itself that’s making you fat; it’s the extra calories that you don’t need that makes you fat.  While it’s very easy to eat extra calories on a carbohydrate-based diet, it’s also very easy to add on extra calories from a fat diet too.

At 9 calories, fat is the most calorie-dense macronutrient by far.  This means that if you’re looking to lose fat, the low-fat options are still fine choices – not because of their low fat content, mind you, but because of their lower caloric content.  

The fat isn’t making you fat due to just being fat; it’s the extra calories from fat (as well as all the macronutrients) that is causing you to gain weight.

What this means is, if you are responsible with your diet, you can choose foods that contain fat, guilt-free.  You just need to be smart about your caloric intake throughout the entire day.

For example, if you really like the taste of whole milk and have been forcing yourself to drink 1% milk because you think you’re supposed to, you can drink whole milk guilt-free so long as you know that that whole milk contains 46% more calories than 1% milk and you understand that you’re making a deliberate choice to get more calories from milk than from somewhere else.

This means that if you choose to get more calories from milk (and by extension fat), you have to cut calories elsewhere.  If you’re like most Americans, you can probably find foods containing carbohydrates, that if you’re being honest, you can probably do without.

The current (2015-2020) Dietary Guidelines for Americans agrees, as it does not encourage a low-fat diet any longer.  It even encourages a lower intake of carbohydrates.

Optimizing Your Diet

Ultimately, the only person who has any real influence on how you divide your nutrient intake/calorie limit is you.

A lot goes into planning, preparing, and following a diet. Trying to balance what you like to eat with what you should be eating to maintain a healthy weight and body composition can be tricky. Don’t punish yourself with a extremely low-carbohydrate diet because it will probably be unsustainable. But if you want to make improvements, a good guide would be a diet that is low-sugar and low in saturated fats and high in healthy fats (like Omega-3s) and protein.

When you have a good idea of what your individual caloric needs are, which you can learn by using a combination of your Basal Metabolic Rate and your activity level, this will become a lot easier.

Understanding how fat and the other macronutrients make up these calories will only further ease the problems with designing a nutrient dense balanced diet. Remember, fat isn’t bad on its own.  Focus on building a diet that you actually want to eat, keep it within a reasonable number of calories, add in more physical activity, and you’ll be closer to your weight loss goals than if you simply just reach for packaging that promises “low fat” or “reduced fat” foods.

Source: https://inbodyusa.com/blogs/inbodyblog/90571521-fat-doesnt-make-you-fat/

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